Cristiano Ronaldo remains Portugal captain despite temper tantrum

Portugal national team head coach Fernando Santos has confirmed that he has no intention of stripping Cristiano Ronaldo of the captaincy despite his recent "misbehaviour" against Serbia.

Ronaldo was booked when he confronted the referee after what would have been the winning goal was not given in the final minutes of the match at the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The clash between Portugal and Serbia ended 2-2 shortly after the incident, and Ronaldo was seen throwing his captain's armband on the ground before disappearing down the tunnel.

The Juventus forward was clearly aghast after the referee did not give the goal, which Ronaldo and the rest of the Portugal team believe had crossed the line. TV replays showed that the ball went in, but there was no goal-line technology or VAR during the competition.

Portugal had taken an early 2-0 lead before Serbia came back to equalise in the second half. Serbian goalkeeper Stefan Mitrovic worked hard to keep the Portuguese at bay, but Ronaldo thought he had beaten the keeper and made this known via angry protests aimed at the referee.

He stormed off and faced criticism for his actions, but Santos insists that there has been some vindication for his captain. The head coach revealed that referee Danny Makkelie had reviewed the incident after the match, and later came to apologise to the Portuguese team.

Santos explained in a post-match press conference that even if Ronaldo's behaviour was not ideal, it was also understandable. "What happened was a moment of great frustration that could have happened to me. Frustration of someone who always wants to win, who gives everything for the national team. It happened to him, it could have been someone else," he said, as quoted by Marca.

"He will keep the armband," Santos confirmed. He was the first to recognise that he should not have done it. He will be captain for sure," he said.

Portugal will next face Luxembourg on Tuesday.